Activists note the importance not only of mobilizing large numbers of people, but also key actors who have the ability to bring others on board. This is particularly true for organizations working across conflict divides: in these contexts, it is important to bring together individuals who can cross conflict boundaries with less risk. Some individuals are influential enough in their own communities that their work across conflict lines will not be a liability, so leveraging their position can be a crucial tool for building partnerships. Similarly, it is important to mobilize actors who have the power to create structural and not just relational change: in other words, actors who have the capacity to shape legislation or policy-making around core issues. Organizations looking to promote cross-conflict engagement need to be creative in how they mobilize others.

In Northern Ireland, Tony Kennedy notes that civil society work has benefitted from two kinds of individuals. First, it is important to work with individuals “who are not sectarian and who are prepared to reach out.” Individuals who are not perceived as being aligned with one side or another can help prevent others from getting involved with sectarian and in some cases paramilitary activities. In the same token, a second approach emphasized by Kennedy is the importance of working with individuals who are recognized and respected within their communities as sectarian leaders or former paramilitaries – people to whom others will listen. In his words: 

[Community members] wouldn't listen to somebody like me that’s a middle class...bureaucrat. They would listen to somebody like Andy Terry who was a former head of the UDL [Ulster Defense League]...So you would work with people like that.

While these two ways of engaging key actors may at first seem to contradict one another, they are actually complementary ways in which the same objectives can be achieved. Depending on the context, mobilizing “from the middle” or mobilizing via respected leaders within communities may be more or less effective.

Community leaders in business, or even politics, are key actors regardless of their conflict identity. Seamus McAleavey of NICVA notes that business leaders served a key role in social change because when they spoke out, “people [thought] it must be important.” Because these individuals are already recognized as community leaders, their participation in organizational initiatives signals legitimacy. 

In other words, key actors - whether neutral parties that can cross conflict divides, sectarian leaders, and influential leadership from high profile sectors - can help build support by serving as examples to others in the community. This helps build engagement with broad appeal. Organizations and their networks or coalitions that bring together these key actors can potentially bridge divides.

Challenges you may encounter using this tool

• Be wary of the possibility that business or political elites may be joining your cause for ulterior, and often self-serving, motives such as promoting their own products or political campaigning. It is important to be sure that such actors are genuinely committed to the cause. 

• Understand that the rules of the game will differ from one tier or sector of society to the next. Businessmen are trained to cut their losses and back out of deals that will not net a profit. Politicians may be more concerned with public perception and reelection than doing the “right thing.” Be ready to manage these dynamics before engaging high profile individuals, and have a back-up plan for any actors that bail when the going gets tough.